A novel tetragonal B2CO structure (tP16-B2CO), formed by strong covalent sp2–sp3 B–C and B–O bonds, was predicted with aid of an unbiased structure searching method. With the energy lower than those of previously proposed candidates, except oI16-B2CO, tP16-B2CO was identified as the thermodynamic metastable phase for B2CO compound. The elastic matrix and phonon dispersion spectra declare that tP16-B2CO is mechanically and dynamically stable. The electronic band structure calculation at ambient pressure and a series of high pressure has manifested the indirect semiconducting and band gap increases first and then decreases with pressure increases. The calculation of mechanical properties such as hardness and stress–strain relations of tP16 structure revealed its common hard nature with high hardness of 23.19 GPa and anisotropy with the max stress along [001] is far higher than that along [100].

In this work, two types of zinc adipate β-nucleating agents, Adi-Zn(OH)2 (1:1) and Adi-ZnO (1:1), for polypropylene (PP) were prepared and their performances were evaluated and compared with commercial β-nucleating agent (named CNA). Results showed that Adi-Zn(OH)2 (1:1) was more effective in promoting PP to form β-crystals and improving the impact strength of PP in the range of nucleating agent addition (0–0.4 wt%). Based on these findings, the ratio of adipic acid to zinc hydroxide and the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of the optimum ratio of adipic acid to zinc hydroxide were systematically studied; results showed that at 0.2 wt%, Adi-Zn(OH)2 (1:2), the nucleated PP displayed the highest impact strength, which was 2.6 times that of pure PP and 42% higher than that of CNA. Besides, Adi-Zn(OH)2 (1:2) could also afford to induce the formation of a high content of β-crystals and shorten the crystallization half time (t1/2) and accelerate the crystallization of PP.

A magnetic dipole quasi-Yagi antenna based on a dielectric resonator (DR) is proposed in this letter. The dominate TE1δ1 mode of the rectangular DR is used as a magnetic dipole which can be differentially fed by the coplanar strip line (CPS). Thanks to the DR employment, the proposed antenna has several advantages such as compact size and flexible design which means the 3-D dimensions of the DR can be easily adjusted to cater for various applications. Meanwhile, the gain of the proposed DR quasi-Yagi antenna is higher than that of traditional electric dipole counterparts. Furthermore, since the DR driver is horizontally polarized, both the metal strip and DR can be used as a director for enhancing the end-fire gain. To verify the design concept, a prototype operating at the X-band is fabricated and measured. Good agreement between the simulated and measured results can be observed.

The extending market of concentrated solar power plants requires high-temperature materials for solar surface receivers that would ideally heat an air coolant beyond 1300 K. This work presents investigation on high-temperature alloys with ceramic coatings (AlN or SiC/AlN stacking) to combine the properties of the substrate (creep resistance, machinability) and coating (slow oxidation kinetics, high solar absorptivity). The first results showed that high-temperature oxidation resistance and optical properties of metallic alloys were improved by the different coatings. However, the fast thermal shocks led to high stress levels not compatible due to the differences in thermal expansion coefficients.

In this study, the behaviours of subgrid-scale (SGS) turbulence are investigated with direct numerical simulations when an isotropic turbulence is brought to interact with imposed rapid waves. A partition of the velocity field is used to decompose the SGS stress into three parts, namely, the turbulent part $\unicode[STIX]{x1D749}^{T}$ , the wave-induced part $\unicode[STIX]{x1D749}^{W}$ and the cross-interaction part $\unicode[STIX]{x1D749}^{C}$ . Under strong wave straining, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D749}^{T}$ is found to follow the Kolmogorov scaling $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E5}_{c}^{2/3}$ , where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E5}_{c}$ is the filter width. Based on the linear Airy wave theory, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D749}^{W}$ and the filtered strain-rate tensor due to the wave motion, $\tilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D64E}}^{W}$ , are found to have different phases, posing a difficulty in applying the usual eddy-viscosity model. On the other hand, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D749}^{T}$ and the filtered strain-rate tensor due to the turbulent motion, $\tilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D64E}}^{T}$ , are only weakly wave-phase-dependent and could be well related by an eddy-viscosity model. The linear wave theory is also used to describe the vertical distributions of SGS statistics driven by the wave-induced motion. The predictions are in good agreement with the direct numerical simulation results. The budget equation for the turbulent SGS kinetic energy shows that the transport terms related to turbulence are important near the free surface and they compensate the imbalance between the energy flux and the SGS energy dissipation.

Above-threshold ionization (ATI) is one of the most fundamental processess when atoms or molecules are subjected to intense laser fields. Analysis of ATI process in intense laser fields by a Wigner-distribution-like (WDL) function is reviewed in this paper. The WDL function is used to obtain various time-related distributions, such as time-energy distribution, ionization time distribution, and time-emission angle distribution and so on, of atoms in laser field pulses with different laser parameters. For the linearly polarized laser pulses, the time-energy distribution intuitively shows from a quantum point of view the relationship between the ionization moment and the final energy and clearly reveals the origin of interference structures in the photoelectron spectrum. In particular, for linearly polarized few-cycle laser pulses, all calculated distributions show the dependence of electron behavior on the ionization time, emission direction, and carrier-envelope phase (CEP). For elliptically polarized few-cycle pulses, we calculate the angular distribution, ionization time distribution, and time-emission distribution, which are compared with the semiclassical calculations. Analysis shows that the offset angle (difference between positions of the peaks in the angular distributions obtained by two methods) in the angular distributions does not correspond to the offset time (difference between positions of the peaks in the ionization time distributions obtained by two methods) in the ionization time distributions, which implies that the attosecond angular streaking technique based on this correspondence between the offset angle and time is in principle inaccurate. Furthermore, the offset time cannot be interpreted as tunneling time.

The thick sedimentary deposits of the Jiudong subbasin in the western Hexi Corridor of NW China can potentially provide important records of climate change in arid and semiarid areas subject to the interaction of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) and the westerlies. Here we present the results of a study of the clay mineralogy of the sediments of drill core DWJ from the Jiudong subbasin. The clay minerals consist mainly of illite, followed by chlorite, kaolinite, and smectite. The clay mineral assemblages are used to define four paleoclimatic stages since ~1.8 Ma: (1) During ~1.8–1.2 Ma, the climate was relatively cold and arid; (2) during ~1.2–0.9 Ma, it was relatively warm and wet, with strongly seasonal precipitation; (3) during ~0.9–0.3 Ma, there was a long-term trend of cooling and drying; and (4) during ~0.3–0.1 Ma, the climate was warmer and wetter than during the previous period, with strongly seasonal precipitation. The paleoclimatic record of the Jiudong subbasin since ~1.8 Ma is consistent with records from the Tengger Desert and typical monsoonal areas. This suggests that the EASM penetrated into the central regions of the North Qilian Shan and Zhangye–Jiudong subbasin during ~1.2–0.9 and ~0.3–0.1 Ma.

Origami, the ancient paper folding art has inspired the engineering equipment and design for decades. The basic concept of origami is very general, which leads to applications ranging from small scale to large scale. Recently, researchers are interested in being able to create self-folding structures. Such a structure enables kinematic manipulation by external forces or moments without folding and/or unfolding operations. This is a beneficial application for many fields including aerospace systems, robots, small devices and self-assembly systems. In this paper, the investigation and analyses of the previous literatures on the key driving force of the actuation structure, including the heat, light, electricity, gas and other actuation methods. The aims are to provide researchers and practitioners with the support to systematically understand the latest technologies in this important and evolving field, with inspiration and direction for follow-up.

Flaxseed oil is rich in ɑ-linolenic acid (ALA), which is the metabolic precursor of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). This study investigated the effect of flaxseed oil supplementation on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced muscle atrophy and carbohydrate oxidation impairment in a piglet model. Twenty-four weaned pigs were used in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment including dietary treatment (5% corn oil vs. 5% flaxseed oil) and LPS challenge (saline vs. LPS). On day 21 of treatment, the pigs were injected intraperitoneally with 100 μg/kg BW LPS, or sterile saline. At 4 h after injection, blood, gastrocnemius muscle and longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle were collected. Flaxseed oil supplementation increased ALA, EPA, total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids contents, protein/DNA ratio, and pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) quantity in muscles (p<0.05). In addition, flaxseed oil reduced mRNA expression of toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain protein (NOD) 2 and their downstream signaling molecules in muscles, and decreased plasma concentrations of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-8, and mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 (p<0.05). Moreover, flaxseed oil inclusion increased the ratios of phosphorylated Akt 1/ total Akt 1 and phosphorylated forkhead Box O (FOXO) 1/ total FOXO1, and reduced mRNA expression of FOXO1, muscle RING finger (MuRF) 1, and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) 4 in muscles (p<0.05). These results suggest that flaxseed oil might have a positive effect on alleviating muscle protein loss and carbohydrates oxidation impairment induced by LPS challenge through regulation of TLR4/NOD and Akt/FOXO signaling pathway.

Hot extrusion experiments were conducted on Al–5.50Zn–2.35Mg–1.36Cu (wt%) alloy under various temperatures and extrusion speeds. Results indicated that dynamic recovery occurred at low temperature and then dynamic recrystallization was triggered at higher temperature or speed. High billet temperature reduced the grain size and increased the volume fraction of Al23CuFe4 and AlMgZn. When the extrusion speed was enhanced to 0.5 mm/s, the peak of MgZn2 phase diminished in the results of X-ray diffraction. The strong brass and S components appeared in all the extruded specimens. Texture intensity gradually decreased with increasing temperature and the fraction of texture components was also significantly affected by the extrusion parameters. The extruded alloy exhibited the highest ultimate tensile strength of 350.2 MPa at 480 °C and 0.5 mm/s and the best elongation of 16.78% at 520 °C and 0.1 mm/s. Moreover, the extrusion speed had more significant effects on the tensile properties than that of the temperature.

Governments in advanced industrial democracies generally regulate foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows with two types of policy measures: entry barriers and post-establishment restrictions. This article provides an integrated account for the two types of FDI restrictions, which is largely absent in the existing literature. We argue that the government's choice of FDI policies is shaped by a compound effect of the incumbent's ideological orientation and the political influence of unionized labour. Although inward FDI broadly benefits domestic workers, the entrance of multinational corporations (MNCs) adversely impacts the unionized interests of labour by transforming the labour market in ways detrimental to unions’ wage-bargaining leverage. Leftist governments, driven by the preferences of their labour constituency, tend to lift entry barriers to FDI in order to promote capital inflows. At the same time, leftist governments may also need to address unions’ concerns about inbound MNCs by tightening post-establishment restrictions on FDI, which impose constraints on the globalized business and operational model of MNCs. We argue that leftist incumbents generally liberalize entry barriers but tighten post-establishment restrictions when the level of labour unionization is high. We found evidence consistent with our argument from country-level and sector-level analysis of FDI restrictions, using a sample from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s of Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

In this paper, a sandwiched type frequency selective surface (FSS) is designed and analyzed. The design procedure and operating principle is given based on the equivalent circuit model. The proposed FSS includes two identical layers of periodic metallic arrays, which are separated by a foam layer. In each layer of the periodic array, the unit cell is composed of a gridded-triple square loop structure. The FSS provides three pass-bands, in which a flat band response is presented. Three bands are separated by one or two transmission zeros, which leads to a sharp rejection on both sides of each pass-band. The central frequencies of the three pass-bands are 7.0, 10.9 and 14.0 GHz. To verify the simulated results, a prototype of the FSS is fabricated and measured. The simulated results agree well with the measured ones. This work can be used in area of a radar stealth or satellite communication system.

High-yielding short-duration cultivars are required due to the development of mechanized large-scale double-season rice (i.e. early- and late-season rice) production in China. The objective of this study was to identify whether existing early-season rice cultivars can be used as resources to select high-yielding, short-duration (less than 115 days) cultivars of machine-transplanted late-season rice. Field experiments were conducted in Yongan, Hunan Province, China in the early and late rice-growing seasons in 2015 and 2016. Eight early-season rice cultivars (Liangyou 6, Lingliangyou 211, Lingliangyou 268, Xiangzaoxian 32, Xiangzaoxian 42, Zhongjiazao 17, Zhongzao 39, and Zhuliangyou 819) with growth durations of less than 115 days were used in 2015, and four cultivars (Lingliangyou 268, Zhongjiazao 17, Zhongzao 39, and Zhuliangyou 819) with good yield performance in the late season in 2015 were grown in 2016. All cultivars had a growth duration of less than 110 days when grown in the late season in both years. Zhongjiazao 17 produced the maximum grain yield of 9.61 Mg ha−1 with a daily grain yield of 108 kg ha−1 d−1 in the late season in 2015. Averaged across both years, Lingliangyou 268 had the highest grain yield of 8.57 Mg ha−1 with a daily grain yield of 95 kg ha−1 d−1 in the late season. The good yield performance of the early-season rice cultivars grown in the late season was mainly attributable to higher apparent radiation use efficiency. Growth duration and grain yield of early-season rice cultivars grown in the late season were not significantly related to those grown in the early season. Our study suggests that it is feasible to select high-yielding short-duration cultivars from existing early-season rice cultivars for machine-transplanted late-season rice production. Special tests by growing alternative early-season rice cultivars in the late season should be done to determine their growth duration and grain yield for such selection.

Polymer redox-active materials (redoxmers) have numerous applications in the emerging electrochemical energy storage systems due to their structural versatility, fast-cycling ability, high theoretical capacity as electrode materials, sustainability, and recyclability. This review examines recent developments in improving the cycling performance of such materials and provides a vista on the future research directions.

Economic pressures continue to mount on modern-day livestock farmers, forcing them to increase herds sizes in order to be commercially viable. The natural consequence of this is to drive the farmer and the animal further apart. However, closer attention to the animal not only positively impacts animal welfare and health but can also increase the capacity of the farmer to achieve a more sustainable production. State-of-the-art precision livestock farming (PLF) technology is one such means of bringing the animals closer to the farmer in the facing of expanding systems. Contrary to some current opinions, it can offer an alternative philosophy to ‘farming by numbers’. This review addresses the key technology-oriented approaches to monitor animals and demonstrates how image and sound analyses can be used to build ‘digital representations’ of animals by giving an overview of some of the core concepts of PLF tool development and value discovery during PLF implementation. The key to developing such a representation is by measuring important behaviours and events in the livestock buildings. The application of image and sound can realise more advanced applications and has enormous potential in the industry. In the end, the importance lies in the accuracy of the developed PLF applications in the commercial farming system as this will also make the farmer embrace the technological development and ensure progress within the PLF field in favour of the livestock animals and their well-being.

This study adopted a Kansei engineering methodology to examine users’ Kansei values toward automotive interior designs by conducting experiments under two models: sensory experience and perceived value evaluation models. In the sensory experience model, 60 participants were recruited to experience using 27 vehicle samples and to assign scores to eight Kansei keywords. Hayashi's quantification theory type 1 was used to calculate the weight of 12 interior space items and 40 interior design categories. In the perceived value evaluation model, 60 participants completed a questionnaire on the influence levels of the Kansei keywords on their Kansei values from the perspectives of four consumer perceived value dimensions. The questionnaire scores were then evaluated using factor analysis to extract nine primary factors affecting participants’ perceptions. This study determined that the interesting and dynamic perceptions corresponded to five design items under the Excitement Quality factors, vigorous and recreational perceptions corresponded to four items under the Relaxation and Comfort factor, and technological and luxurious perceptions corresponded to six items under the Luxury and Splendor factor and the Esteemed Image factor. These findings can help designers and researchers in the relevant sectors create automotive interior designs that fulfill the expectations of users.

Population growth and rising incomes have led to increasing global demand for meat products. Meeting this demand without converting remaining natural ecosystems or further degrading ecosystems is one of the largest global sustainability challenges. A critical step to overcoming this challenge is to increase the productivity of livestock grazing systems, which occupy the largest land area of any type of agriculture globally. Integrated crop−livestock systems (iCL), which re-couple crop and livestock production at the farm scale, have been considered a promising strategy to tackle this challenge by restoring degraded pasturelands and providing supplemental nutrition to livestock. However, few studies have analyzed the economic viability of such systems, especially in Brazil, an important player in global food systems. This paper presents an economic analysis of iCL in Mato Grosso, Brazil, the largest grain and beef producer in the country, which spans the ecologically diverse Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal biomes. We compare the economic performance of an integrated soybean/corn and beef cattle system to a continuous crop (soybean/corn) system and a continuous livestock (beef cattle) production system from 2005 to 2012. We use empirical case study data to characterize a ‘typical’ farm for each production system within the study region. We find that the integrated crop−livestock system has a higher annual net present value (NPV) per hectare (ha) than continuous cropping or livestock under a range of discount rates. However, under a scenario of substantially higher crop prices, the continuous cropping outperforms iCL. While iCL is not feasible in all regions of the Amazon and Cerrado, our results indicate that in places where the biophysical and market conditions are suitable for production, it could be a highly profitable way to intensify cattle production and potentially spare land for other uses, including conservation. Nevertheless, additional credit and technical support may be needed to overcome high upfront costs and informational barriers to increase iCL areas as a sustainable development strategy for agriculture in the Amazon and Cerrado regions.

A credit default swap (CDS) is an exchange of premium payments for a compensation for the occurrence of a credit event. Counterparty risks refer to defaults of parties holding CDS contracts. In this paper we develop a valuation/pricing model for a CDS subject to counterparty risks. Using the Cox–Ingersoll–Ross (CIR) model for interest rate and first arrival times of Poisson processes with variable intensities for the occurrences of credit default and counterparty defaults, we derive a mathematical formulation and make a full theoretical investigation. In addition, we develop a full theory for the corresponding infinite horizon problem and establish its connection with the asymptotic long expiry behaviour of finite horizon problem. Furthermore, we establish a connection between two major frameworks for default times: the structure model approach and the intensity model approach. We show that a solution of the structure model can be obtained as the limit of a sequence of solutions of intensity models. Regarded as an important theoretical development, we remove a constraint typically imposed on the parameters of the CIR model; that is, the well-posedness (existence, uniqueness and continuous dependence of parameters) of the mathematical model holds for any empirically calibrated parameters for the CIR model.